Here's what I've watched lately...
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Fruits Basket is nuts. I watched two episodes on a whim. It's too silly for me. I won't be watching any more of it. Are any of you guys Anime fans (besides loving Miyazaki)?
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Smallville Season 3 is a mixed bag. We're ten or so episodes in and most of those have been meh. The "crazy Lex" episodes, however, are awesome. The blind Clark episode is fun.
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The King's Speech deserves all of the praise heaped on it. It fits the "bromance" genre (a couple of dudes start a relationship, have a bad argument and split up, then have a happy reconciliation), but in a good 80s action way, not an aughts self-conscious way, if that makes sense.
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Black Swan is ridiculous. Natalie Portman learns to masturbate and goes crazy. While achieving her dream. Then she dies. I don't have the words to tear this apart. I'm not sure I need to.
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(Minor spoilers ahead.) Somewhere is frustrating. It opens with a shot of our protagonist, Johnny Marco, literally driving around in circles. Because, you know, he's not going anywhere in the life he has chosen. By the time he decides to become a real father to his daughter, when he embraces her and becomes a real parental figure while the mother is away, Coppola gives us the money shot of him driving straight ahead. And, of course, the film must end and does end with a series of shots of Marco driving straight on his own. There is a nice wrinkle in his abandoning his car and walking tall (after slouching through much of the film) because it's an odd feel-good moment that seems earned. If one is willing to ignore these shallow visual metaphors, there is also some nice father-daughter commentary going on here. I won't pick on Ben too much for liking this, but I'm still not in the Sofia Coppola fan club.
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Easy A successfully captures the spirit of John Hughes. That's the best compliment I can give it. That said, I've never really been a Hughes fan.
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Black Heaven (L'autre Monde) is basically an illustration of Proverbs 5:3-5. It's also maybe a silly exploration of online personas and relationships and maybe even a meditation on suicides. It reportedly was received well at a Cannes midnight screening last year. I liked it. Its available on NWI. If any of you decide to watch it, don't read anything else about it first. Then, come back here and tell me why I shouldn't like it.
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I may or may not join in on the list-making fun you guys have been having. Know that I've been reading and enjoying your posts.
Peace.
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